Corsair Commander Mini Aims to Keep Your Rig Shipshape

Posted on August 20, 2014 11:00 AM by Ryan Perry

Comparing how we control fans and lighting, and read temperatures using 3.5″ or even 5.25″ bay-mounted units with knobs and dials, could be compared to a caveman discovering fire. It’s a big deal, but there’s loads of room for advancement.

Corsair is trying to move these Neanderthals (and the rest of us) into the future with its internally-mounted Commander Mini, which could be the equivalent of our thick-skulled, cave-dwelling friend learning how to use the microwave.

Wire it up to a spare USB header on the motherboard, give it some juice from a SATA connector, and download and install the Link Dashboard software. Then just stick the small, unassuming unit just about anywhere in your case, and before you know it you’ll be controlling up to 6 fans, monitoring up to 4 temperatures (using the included diodes), and showing an at-a-glance state of your system using some RGB LED strips (sold separately).

All tweaks are made through the software so there’s no need to fiddle with the knobs, or make limited changes in the BIOS. It even works with current I-series liquid CPU coolers, power supplies, and active memory coolers to provide a single point of control.

The Commander Mini is available on Corsair’s website for $59.99 US and carries a 2-year warranty, so it shouldn’t be long before we see it popping up at the online retailers.